


don’t stop believin’!

by castielfalls



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: F/F, F/M, Glee AU, M/M, but the ones in the tags are the endgames so if you don't fw that, i mean... there's still a bunch of other ships to be here for, there's a variety of ships
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-03
Updated: 2019-03-04
Packaged: 2019-07-06 11:20:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 13,747
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15885006
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/castielfalls/pseuds/castielfalls
Summary: [ based on the tv show glee, and you can read this as a social media au on twitter at user @70squill ]with a rag-tag group of misfits, phil coulson attempts to revive the glory of the glee club, which competes on the show choir competition circuit while its disparate members bond over sexuality, race, relationships, and teamwork.





	1. sit down, you’re rocking the boat

Phil Coulson doesn't know if anyone will sign up, but he definitely hopes so. It wasn't easy getting the principal Nick Fury to give the green light for it, but he'd gotten it anyway and is now putting up the sign up sheet for the Glee Club, newly named the New Directions. He's gotten the encouragement to request starting the failed club up again after his friend and colleague, Peggy Carter, had told him it was a good idea.

The Glee Club had been disbanded after loss of interest in the students, but Coulson was sure that he would be able to get a new batch of kids interested in it. After a challenging argument, the football coach, Brock Rumlow, gave him permission to put up sign-up sheets in the locker room. Granted, they'd been defaced with ridiculous names like 'Penis' and 'Blowjob Central' but at least the one in the hallway noticeboard had actual names on it.

The auditions were later in the afternoon, and the first name on the list was that of Anthony Stark's. He was well known around school for dating the head cheerleader, Virginia Potts, nicknamed Pepper. He's also the, if not one of, richest kid in McKinley High. He dresses like he's worth a million dollars, as he should. His father owns Stark Industries and Tony is set to inherit it all when Howard Stark retires or dies.

"Okay, you know who I am so I'll just start with  _On My Own_ from  _Les Misérables_ ," he says confidently. Coulson can't even believe the talent Tony has, he belts out each note perfectly and with ease. Of course, he knows he  _has_  to have him in the New Directions. More people trickle into the auditorium for their auditions.

"My name is Peter Quill, I'm singing  _Mister Cellophane_  from  _Chicago_." The school's only openly LGBTQ+ kid, bisexual Peter Quill has an obsession with music from the 70's and always has a red jacket on. Close friends include Tony, Scott Lang and Loki Odinson, from his engineering class.

"I'm Brunnhilde Valkyrie, I'll sing  _Respect_  by Aretha Franklin." Brunnhilde isn't part of any clubs, so there isn't much to be known about her. All that is obvious is that she doesn't take bullshit and won't be anyone's doormat. Close friends include Bruce Banner and Thor Odinson.

"Um, I'm Peter Parker and this is Ned Leeds. We're gonna sing  _Next to Me_  by Emeli Sandé." Peter and Ned are good friends, skilled in science. They aren't that popular, often greeted with a slushie to the face upon arriving at school. Close friends include Shuri Udaku and Michelle Jones.

"Hello, I'm James Barnes, but everyone calls me Bucky. I'm gonna sing  _Hopelessly Devoted to You_  from  _Grease_." Bucky Barnes, a McKinley Titan. He's very popular for being one of the most attractive footballers on the team. His close friends are Steve Rogers and Thor Odinson.

After seeing what the sign ups had to offer, he called the first Glee Club meeting that afternoon.

* * *

They're horrible.

Well, not  _horrible_ , per se. They're all talented, with incredible voices that Coulson didn't even know was possible in sixteen-year-olds. But he has them singing  _Sit Down, You're Rocking the Boat_  from  _Guys and Dolls_  and they're  _terrible_. The tempo goes off-beat quickly and their choreography is all over the place.

It doesn't take long after finishing the song that Brunnhilde rolls her eyes and comments, "We suck. And you're giving the lead of the song to kid-who-skipped-a-grade #1?"

Peter frowns and complains, "That only means I'm smart, what's so bad about that?"

Quill sits down on one of the plastic chairs and shrugs, pulling off the white gloves they're all wearing, "Maybe we can, I don't know, drop the weird gloves?"

"This is kind of a joke," Tony finally says. "I'm outta here. At least, until this club becomes more worth my time. Also!” — he turns to point at Peter — “Kid, delete that tweet of me and Bucky being here.”

"Wait, Anthony. Come on," Coulson calls after him. Tony waves without turning back and walks out of the choir room.

Ned asks, "So... Are we still doing this?"

Coulson nods, "Yeah, just... I'll go talk to him."

* * *

Coulson finds Tony seated at the bleachers, watching the Cheerios practice. He doesn't even know why the teenager is watching. You would think cheerleaders are fun to observe, but not when Coach Maria Hill is there.

"That's sloppy! You're sloppy babies! It's just disgraceful! And I want the agony out of your eyes! No, Lance, don't you start crying! You are the weak link, pal! How's it feel to be the weak link, huh? That can't feel very good!" she yells into the megaphone as the Cheerios struggle to keep up.

He sits down next to Tony, who kind of laughs at the Cheerios before he shuts up once he realizes a teacher is with him.

"Look, I know I'm just a sophomore, but I can feel the clock ticking away, and I don't want to leave high school with nothing to show for it," Tony says, already knowing what Coulson is going to say.

Coulson raises an eyebrow, "You have perfect grades. You're a fantastic singer."

Tony nods, "Yeah, but so is everyone else in that choir room. I needed something special that could really do it for me after high school. Something that makes me more... attractive to colleges and stuff. They always want a little extra something."

"And you think Glee Club is going to change that?" Coulson asks.

Tony shrugs, looking out at the Cheerios again, "Being great at something is going to change it. Being a part of something special makes you special, right?"

Coulson nods, agreeing, before he says, "You need a female lead who can keep up with you vocally. Brunnhilde is great, but I don't think you and her sing in similar styles."

Tony looks towards the head Cheerio and says, "Maybe I can find someone."

Rumlow suddenly blows his whistle and yells across the football field to Coulson, "Coulson! Fury wants to see you!"

* * *

"But we just started rehearsals," Coulson tries.

Fury frowns, putting down his calculator and pushing the documents away, "My hands are tied, Phil. I need the auditorium. Alcoholics Anonymous wants to rent it out for their afternoon meetings. Lots of drunks in this town. They're paying me ten bucks a head."

Coulson presses his lips together in thought before he bargains, "If we show at regionals, Glee stays; if not, the bar's open on the auditorium."

Fury furrows his eyebrows in confusion, "What is it with you and this club? You've got only five kids — one of them's widely prejudiced against."

Coulson nods, "Then I guess you have nothing to worry about."

"Fine. But you're running detention for free to make it up to me," Fury finally relents and Coulson grins, confirming the deal.

* * *

Coulson gets the Cheerios coach Maria Hill to talk with him about asking more kids to join the Glee Club. He asks her for permission to ask her Cheerios to join, "Well, I need more kids - performers - and all the best ones are in the Cheerios, so I figured some of them might want to double up."

Maria scoffs before she says, "Okay, so what you're doing right now is called blurring the lines. High school is a caste system. Kids fall into certain slots. Your jocks and your popular kids up in the penthouse. The invisibles and the kids playing live-action out in the forest: bottom floor."

Coulson blinks slowly and asks, "And where do the Glee kids lie?"

"Sub-basement."

Coulson confides in Peggy Carter, the guidance counsellor, about what Maria said, and she says, "Maria's not wrong, but I don't think anything is set in stone. I mean, kids are going to do what they think is cool, which is not always who they are. You just need to find a way to get them out of their boxes. You know, if you can get a couple of the popular kids to sign up, the rest will fall right in line."

Coulson guesses it's a miracle that he has two popular guys in the Glee Club at the moment, albeit both are there in secret. He asks them to ask more kids to join, or at least make their presence in Glee Club public to the rest of the school. Bucky promises he'll talk to his friends and Tony says he's working on it.

By the next Glee Club meeting, Tony has a new friend — Scott Lang — Bucky has two Titans with him — Steve Rogers and Thor Odinson — and there are three Cheerios present — Pepper Potts, Ava Starr and Wanda Maximoff.  It’d taken quite a bit of convincing from Bucky to get Steve and Thor to join — both were hesitant because of the negative treatment Glee kids got just for being in Glee Club, but they joined anyway because one, Steve was secretly in love with Bucky and would do anything for him and two, Thor actually really likes singing.

For the Cheerios, Tony invited Pepper to join and she immediately consulted Maria about it, in which Maria decided that she wanted to give the Glee Club three of her girls to spy on them. Coulson restarting the club meant that a portion of the Cheerios funding was cut and redistributed to the Glee Club, and she hated that that was happening. She hoped that having her girls on the inside can help tear the club apart, and she would soon have her funds back.

Introductions among the new and original members were bizarre to Coulson, because already there seems to be drama between the kids — Tony and Bucky have some sort of unexplained flirty air between them, Pepper was being oddly possessive of Tony to Bucky, Steve just kind of looked upset the whole time, Quill was confident and chatting up Thor. Peter and Ned are lovely, and were talking with Wanda and Ava, while Brunnhilde immediately made her way to Thor, the only person she was familiar with in the club. Steve asks Peter if he’s the one people call Spider-man though he’s actually afraid of spiders and Peter fires back that he shouldn’t say that about him.

They don’t fit. Coulson’s just going to have to make this work.


	2. baby, it’s cold outside

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> hopeless romantics,,, all of them HOPELESS

Peter Quill is a man on a mission. Specifically, the mission of making a footballer question his sexuality. Most of them are what he calls "peak heterosexual". Loki is all in favor of it, finding the mission way too funny to pass up. Of course, what Loki doesn't know is Peter has set his sights on his brother, Thor. He doesn't intend to tell him anyway, he knows Loki will end him the moment he finds out. He's way too protective of his brother.

He gets Thor's number from Bucky — it's surprisingly not that difficult to ease the number from him. Peter likes to think he has an amazing gaydar, and Bucky is just  _radiating_  gay energy. All he had to do was flirt with him until he had Thor's number in his cell phone. Not to say Bucky isn't attractive enough to go after, but Peter knows Tony may or may not have a crush on him so he leaves him be. He texts Thor about the Spanish homework, in which it turns into him flirting with Thor and then ending with them pairing up for that week's Glee assignment — a love duet, in lieu of the upcoming Valentine's Day.

To say Peter doesn't feel victorious is an understatement. He feels like a fucking champion. He doesn't even have any intentions of actually dating Thor, but to have a boy as handsome as he is to sing a love song with is every bisexual kid's dream, so of course Peter's ecstatic about it. They settle on  _Baby, It's Cold Outside_  with Thor singing the male parts since his voice is deeper, and Peter can't help but bask in how well their voices mesh together.

* * *

Bucky kind of really likes Tony. He doesn't even know why. Maybe it's how Tony comes to his classes late and sleeps through the entire lesson but is smart enough to get full marks on his tests. Maybe it's how undeniably attractive he is. Maybe it's his humour, talent and his beautiful voice and laugh. Whatever it is, Bucky just likes him.

He texts Tony to thank him for the music recommendations he'd given him at Glee Club and compliments his music taste before he asks him if he wanted to have dinner together at Breadstix the next evening. Tony takes him up on it, and Bucky's so over the moon about it until he gets a text from his group chat with Thor and Steve, where Thor has asked if they want to get Breadstix, same time as his date with Tony. He turns it down while Steve decides to go, and he wonders why Steve seems so bitter or upset over his texts but he figured that he's just tired after a day of football practice.

The truth is, Steve is so in love with Bucky that he has no idea what to do with himself. He's loved him since they were kids, but Steve never built up the courage to confess his feelings. He’d just been admiring Bucky from his place next to him, so close yet so far. His feelings get worse when he sees Bucky’s Snapchat story later that day. It’s of Tony, obviously, and the caption is scolding him though it has an affectionate connotation to it.

He texts Thor for advice, the boy known to be the voice of reason although he himself can be impulsive at times. Steve asks him if he’s homophobic and after Thor rejects the idea, Steve tells him everything. His feelings for Bucky and his jealousy of Tony. Thor assures him that Tony is straight and dating Pepper and therefore has nothing to worry about. Bucky is all his.

Steve wishes he was just as sure.

* * *

Steve can’t focus in class.

Bucky cut school that day, and when Steve doesn’t see Tony in his economics class, he knows they skipped together. That doesn’t bother Steve as much as Bucky’s tweet, which is simply a photo of his hand, someone else’s hand over his. The replies are full of hot cheerleaders and his friends asking him whose hand that is, but Steve already knows it’s Tony’s.

He texts Thor about it, and Thor admits he was wrong in assuming Tony’s sexuality. It doesn’t change the fact that the love of Steve’s life is now presumably in a relationship with one of the hottest guys in school.

Bucky’s tweet intrigues a lot of people, because at least half the school’s had a crush on him at some point. Bucky is attractive in every sense of the word, and only the blind Matthew Murdock from the law course wouldn’t think so. 

It intrigues the Cheerio girls of the Glee Club as well. Pepper asks when did Bucky get a girlfriend. Ava’s thoughts are that he’s dating Natasha Romanoff of the Cheerios, but Wanda shoots the idea down as they’ve never spoken. Pepper points out that footballers usually date Cheerios and Wanda says in return that she’s dating Tony, who has never tried football in his life. Pepper’s argument is that Tony’s popular, and the matter of Bucky Barnes and his mysterious new beau is forgotten.

* * *

Quill is surprised when Thor asks him if he’s free, but he returns the question with subtle flirtation by telling him he’s always free for him. Thor asks him to lunch before Glee Club starts and then proceeds to surprise him even more by saying he’s going to pay so Quill shouldn’t bring any money. 

Quill brags about it to Tony, saying he’s sure he can make Thor like boys, and Tony can’t help but ask, “Do you like him? Thor, I mean.” 

Quill stares at him before he laughs, “Nah, man. I just want to see if I can make a footballer like guys.” 

Tony feels weird about letting Quill continue, but it seems pretty harmless at the moment — Quill likes the challenge and Thor likes the attention. Seems perfect.


	3. lucky

“They went to the pool together,” Steve complains, taking his seat next to Thor in the choir room. 

Thor raises his eyebrows and questions, “Who?” 

Steve answers, his tone irritable, “Bucky and Tony! Didn’t you see Bucky’s Instagram post?” 

Thor frowns, taking out his phone to check, “Didn’t have the time to, Steve. Oh, I see it.” 

It’s a photo of Bucky drinking from his plastic bottle, shirtless with a necklace on. He looks stunning, and the caption simply reads ‘ _we went to the pool yesterday and they took this really cool pic of me so who am i not to share it_ ’. Under it, barely a minute after the post went up, is Steve’s comment, reading ‘ _looking good my man_ ’ and under that is Quill’s flirty comment, ‘ _come my way hot stuff_ ’. Quill’s comment makes Thor feel weird, but he can’t quite place the feeling. It just doesn’t hit him right. He pushes his thoughts away as he finally comes to Tony’s comment ‘ _cred me xoxo_ ’. 

“See?” Steve says.

Thor shrugs, “Perhaps you are overreacting. Friends take photos of each other all the time.” 

Steve insists, “After that photo of him holding someone’s hand? They’re dating, Thor. Bucky’s dating someone who isn’t me, and it just sucks.” 

Thor suddenly remembers Quill’s flirty comment again and he sighs, trying to forget it. Why is he even bothered by it? He knows Quill’s bisexual and he doesn’t mind — hell, Quill flirts with him all the time and he doesn’t care — so why is this weighing on him?

“Everything sucks,” Thor agrees, watching as Tony and Bucky walk into the choir room together, laughing as there’s barely any space between them.

* * *

Coulson had asked everyone to pair up for duets as an assignment. It was partially because he wanted to see who worked best together, in terms of chemistry and vocally. As per their agreement over their conversation about Spanish homework, Quill and Thor sang _Baby, It’s Cold Outside_ together.

Thor’s kind of worried that he’s secretly homophobic or something, because while Quill sings with him, his mind keeps showing him Quill’s comment on Bucky’s post. He can’t help but sneak glances towards Bucky to see if he’s taking any interest in Quill. He’s just singing backup with the other Glee kids and his attention seems more on Tony than anything, but it still makes Thor feel… weird. It’s the only word he can think of. He doesn’t really know what he’s actually feeling, just that it’s, you know, _weird_. Quill doesn’t seem any different, still the same happy-go-lucky, flirty guy he is. Thor returns the energy, wondering just why he’s so off.

Steve claps for them when they finish the song, though he’s guilty that he wasn’t paying attention 100%. He was more focussed on the fact that right after them would be Bucky and Tony. Bucky grabs the guitar and Tony takes two stools for them.

“ _Do you hear me? I’m talking to you across the water, across the deep blue ocean. Under the open sky, oh my, baby I’m trying_ ,” Bucky starts, strumming the guitar. 

Instantly, Steve sighs, feeling jealousy consume him as Tony sings his part, “ _Boy, I hear you in my dreams. I feel your whisper across the sea. I keep you with me in my heart. You make it easier when life gets hard._ ”

Steve tunes out after that. He only processes applause and a wide grin he fell in love with.

* * *

Thor’s getting really worried about Quill.

He has notifications on for Quill’s Twitter — God knows why, Thor doesn’t even have notifications on for his own brother — and he sees Quill tweet: ' _just got beaten up by clint barton ayeee'_ and a minute later ' _lmao going_ _private!_ 'Thor assumes he means he’s moving to his private account, but he answers ‘ _what the fuck i hate him are you safe now ??_ ’ Quill’s reply comes after a while ' _@pointbreak yes babe but don’t tell anyone i’m in the boys bathroom on level 2 and i can’t move._ '

Instantly, Thor is on his way there, with bandages he’d gotten from the general office and an ice bag. He enters the boys bathroom soon enough, noticing that it’s empty except for Quill at the sink, nursing a bleeding nose. 

He places the items on the counter and asks, concerned, “Are you okay? Is it broken?” 

Quill shakes his head, accepting the tissue Thor offers him, “Nope. I’m good. Thanks for coming to help, man.”

Thor notices a cut on Quill’s face and he winces slightly, “That could get infected.” 

It’s obvious, something Thor doesn’t even need to tell him, but he feels a compelling need to keep talking to Quill for some absurd reason not even he knows. 

Quill’s lip quirks up in a smile, “Yeah, but it’s whatever, I guess. I don’t really care.” 

Thor takes a small bandaid from among the bandages. It has music notes on it, which doesn’t really matter but Thor smiles because it kind of reminds him of Quill. He peels the back of the bandaid off. While one hand holds the bandaid, the other rests on Quill’s cheek to hold him still so the bandaid sticks properly. 

Quill’s eyes… Since when were they so green? So pretty? They shine under the terrible fluorescent lighting of the bathroom, as if the stars live in his eyes. His lips are slightly parted out of pure surprise from Thor’s gentleness as he takes care of Quill’s wound. How the hell does this boy still look so good even when he’s got a bandaid with music notes on his face and a tissue pressed against his nose? It isn’t fair. He —

Thor pulls his hand away after he sticks the bandaid on, the warmth in his fingers spreading throughout his body. He’s sure the heat has made its way to his cheeks by now, but he doesn’t want to look in the mirror to check. 

Quill grins, soft yet cocky, “Thanks, Thor.” His fingers run over the music note bandaid as he looks at it in the mirror and he comments, “Music. You really do know me, footballer.”

What the hell is happening to Thor?


	4. somebody to love

Coulson gives them a new assignment — sing about how they’re feeling that week. It’s an easy enough assignment, everyone has songs ready by the next day.

Bucky sings _When I Get You Alone_ by Thicke, staring at Tony almost the whole song. Tony doesn’t make it obvious, but it’s clear he enjoys being serenaded. Steve doesn’t like it, trying to look anywhere but Bucky. Steve goes up after him, singing _I Want To Hold Your Hand_ by The Beatles. Bucky listens attentively, and to Steve’s delight, he barely looks at Tony while he sings sincerely. Quill is next, singing _Do Ya Think I’m Sexy_ by Rod Stewart. Everyone can see clear as day, Quill’s singing to Thor. He’s not even subtle about it, dancing and looking at Thor while they all sing backup to it. Pepper goes next, singing _Take a Bow_ by Rihanna, staring at Tony who just watches silently. Tony is the last one for the lesson, ending it off with _Somebody To Love_ by Queen.

It’s pretty obvious to everyone else what’s going on — Steve’s pining after someone, Bucky really likes whoever he’s going out with, Tony’s kind of out of it, Pepper and Tony broke up and Quill’s really into Thor.

* * *

“Please welcome Stephen Strange to the New Directions!” Coulson announces, clapping.

The new addition gives the other Glee members a smile, introducing, “Hey, I’m a med student, but I thought Glee would be fun.”

Quill straightens up in his chair, returning the grin as he asks, “Are you single, by chance?”

Stephen laughs, obviously charmed, and Thor chuckles nervously, playfully pushing Quill, “Shush, Peter.”

Steve catches Thor in the hallways later, asking, “Why are you so bothered during class?” 

Thor raises an eyebrow, going through his locker for his folder, “What do you mean bothered?” 

Steve shrugs, leaning against the locker next to Thor’s as he elaborates, “You seemed kinda bummed during Glee. Is this about Peter? I know you two became like, best friends or something and now he seems kinda into Stephen —“

“I’m gonna stop you right there, Steve. I’m not bothered at all,” Thor cuts him off. 

Steve nods, unconvinced, “Sure. But either way, Peter’s kind of a player, so just in case you’re into him… at least you know.” 

Steve pulls out his phone, scrolling through Instagram to find Thor’s recent post — a very attractive photo of him that Loki took the weekend before. Below it are plenty of comments — Cheerios, Titans, Glee kids, classmates, girls with crushes on him, friends, Peter Quill. Quill’s comment is blatantly flirting with him — Thor’s caption is ‘ _walk pretty, talk pretty_ ’, a reference to a _When I Get You Alone_ lyric, and Quill had commented ‘ _walk pretty talk pretty my way pretty boy!_ ’.

“See? He’s flirting with Stephen, he’s flirting with you, I saw him flirt with Bucky on the first day of Glee… I don’t know if you like boys that way, Thor. But you should probably be careful,” Steve says, walking away, leaving Thor alone with his thoughts.

**Thor** @pointbreak

_sometimes the world is very confusing in the things it sends your_ _way and sometimes i just need someone to push me the right way_

* * *

“Hey, Peter. Do you think it’s the best idea to flirt with all those guys? Like I get that your whole thing is ‘flirty bisexual’, but I mean, if you’re trying to get Thor to like you then maybe don’t flirt with other people?” Scott suggests. They’re all hanging out at Peter’s apartment after school — Tony’s helping with homework, which is always a bonus.

Tony nods from his place on the floor, “Scott has a point, man. Especially since I think it’s working. Thor usually gets all flustered when girls give him their numbers but recently he’s been downright uninterested.”

It’s true, Scott had seen it with Hope the other day — two Cheerios Scott didn’t recognize went up to Thor and flirted with him, giving him their numbers. Hope observed that Thor threw the numbers in the trash.

“Honestly, I don’t know if Thor even likes girls but I feel like you should tone down on the flirting a little,” Tony says, putting down his pen. 

Peter presses his lips together in thought before he says, “You wanna know the truth? I hit on Stephen because hitting on Thor got too real.” 

Scott asks, “What do you mean?”

“Look, Thor’s hot. He’s also kind, funny and unbelievably smart. It was supposed to be me flirting and him turning gay or bi or whatever, but now I’m starting to feel actual things for him and I don’t like that,” Peter admits. “You know, the last time I loved someone, I got hurt.” 

Tony nods before saying, “I know, but that’s still no reason to do that to Thor no matter how either of you feel.” 

Peter agrees, “You’re right, I’m sorry, I’ll… I’ll stop flirting with Thor.” 

Scott quickly rejects the idea, “No. no. Keep going. I think he likes it.”

* * *

Coulson asks Tony to pair with Stephen for a duet the next week to help him adjust to Glee Club faster since Tony seems to be the most sociable and welcoming. Tony agrees, and Bucky accommodates it with no argument, pairing with Steve instead. And with that, it is goodbye for them.


	5. somewhere only we know

Coulson assigns them to do romantic duets in lieu of Valentine’s Day of the best love songs. The pair-ups are obvious — Tony and Stephen as arranged by Coulson, Bucky and Steve, Quill and Thor, Ned and Peter, Pepper and Wanda, Ava and Brunnhilde.

Everyone takes the lesson to decide on a song to perform. Quill leaves to go to the bathroom and Thor quickly pulls Brunnhilde aside, saying, “Hey, I know we’ve only spoken a few times, but I feel like I can trust you with this. Plus, I wanted an objective view on this, if you’re willing to help me.”

Brunnhilde nods, “Sure, whatever you need. So, what’s bothering you?” The two of them sit down at the corner of the room, a few feet away from Ned and Peter in excited discussion.

“Lately, I’ve been questioning myself. Like, everything I thought I knew about myself is being challenged because of someone and I don’t know what to do,” Thor says.

Brunnhilde asks, “Can I be blunt?” Thor gives her the green light and she guesses, voice softer, “You’re talking about Quill, aren’t you?”

Thor doesn’t answer for a few moments before he finally nods, “Yeah. I don’t know, it’s just that… He’s openly bisexual, as you know, and he gets hated for it. Yet, he still doesn’t hide who he is and he’s never shy about flirting.”

Brunnhilde smiles, noting, “He does flirt with you a lot, I noticed.”

Thor agrees, “Exactly, but for some reason, I’m not really against it?”

Brunnhilde shrugs, folding her arms, “Who would be against being flirted with? It’s a huge confidence boost?”

Thor struggles to find the words as he rambles, “Yeah, but I have never felt this way when girls flirt with me. I’ve had plenty of Cheerios, girls around school, random girls on the street give me their numbers and hit on me, but getting flattered is the extent of it. But when… When Peter does it, it does things to me and I really don’t know what’s going on and I’m so terrified. I feel like I don’t know who I am anymore. I thought I liked girls… But then Peter came along.” They’re silent for a few moments while Brunnhilde thinks of something to say.

“Thor, sexuality isn’t something you determine overnght. Think it through. From what you’re telling me, I feel like you’re either bi/pan with a preference for men or you’re gay, but the only one who can tell you who you truly are is yourself. You know yourself better than anyone else. Just… Don’t stress about it too much, yeah? Take your time, don’t beat yourself up. Whoever you are, it isn’t wrong, okay?” Brunnhilde says, placing a comforting arm on Thor’s shoulder.

Thor smiles gratefully, putting a hand over hers, “Thank you, Brunnhilde.”

Quill returns just then, a grin on his face, “I have the perfect song for us to do, Thor. Or multiple suggestions, actually. It’s your choice.”

* * *

Steve is over the fucking moon.

Steve had been suggesting Love Of My Life by Queen for the duet before Bucky just sighs, asking, “Can I tell you something?”

Steve nods, staring at him in concern, “Anything. Are you okay?”

Bucky frowns, leaning closer as his voice lowers, “Tony broke up with me.” Steve has to stop himself from being happy about it — Bucky’s feelings come first.

“I didn’t know you guys dated,” Steve lies.

Bucky shrugs, glancing at Tony who laughs at a joke Stephen made, “We started dating a month ago. He wasn’t comfortable with a gay relationship going public because of his dad, and neither of us were that into it, I guess. Honestly, I feel like we were just close friends who misunderstood our attraction as affection. Doesn’t mean it doesn’t hurt, though.”

Steve presses his lips together before he stands, “Mr Coulson, can Bucky and I do our duet now?”

Coulson smiles, nodding, “Sure, Steve. Come on.”

“What song are we doing?” Bucky asks, following Steve. Steve grins, whispering the title to the pianist. The opening chords of Somewhere Only We Know makes Bucky smile, and the two sing like nobody else is there.

* * *

“Bucky, can I tell you something?” Steve asks, catching Bucky in the hallways. 

Bucky nods, opening his locker to claim some textbooks, “You can tell me anything, Steve. What is it?”

Steve takes a deep breath before saying, “Okay, this might be a little awkward and too early, but I’ll die if I don’t tell you now. I’ve had a crush on you since we were kids and you’re the best thing that has ever happened to me.”

Bucky stares at him speechlessly for a while before he shuts the locker, saying slowly, “Steve... I just broke up with Tony.”

Steve shakes his head self-deprecating, “Shit, I’m sorry. I knew it was too soon.”

“No, don’t be sorry,” Bucky says quickly. “Listen, I like you too, ever since we were kids. But you never told me you liked guys, so I went ahead and dated Tony. But just because we dated for a month doesn’t mean I didn’t like him. I really did, and you need to give me time to get over him before I can truly be with you.”

“I get it. Entirely. I have bad timing,” Steve apologises.

“It’s fine, Stevie. Really,” Bucky says gently. “Can I ask when you started liking me?”

Steve answers, “You remember the time we had to ride back from Rockaway Beach in the back of the freezer truck?”

Bucky smiles, remembering it, “Was that the time we used our train money to buy hot dogs?”

“And you blew three bucks trying to win that stuffed bear for me,” Steve nods, grinning.

“Shit, Steve,” Bucky chuckles. “I’ve been so in love with you for so long.”

* * *

“Is Stephen Tony’s new boyfriend or what?” Loki asks, taking a seat at the table in the cafeteria. Some of the Glee kids sat together at lunch — mainly Tony, Loki, Peter Quill and Bucky. The rest came and went, not fully dedicated to the club yet.

“No, no,” Tony denies, though he adds, “He’s cute, though.”

Bucky makes a face of mock offence, asking, “Over me already?”

Tony rolls his eyes, “It’s been a week, Bucky! Plus, you told me you’ve been in love with Steve for forever. This is your chance.”

Bucky shrugs, lying, “I don’t know, he’s probably straight. I’m not gonna ask him out.”

Loki shakes his head in disappointment, “Your ridiculous gay ass... What about Peter?”

Peter replies, “Operation Footballer is still go.” Tony raises an eyebrow at him and he adds, “Operation Don’t Fall for the Footballer is also go.”

“Why? You would be cute together. Don’t deny it,” Bucky asks, genuinely confused. “You two are always happy around each other.”

Peter shrugs, unsure, “Remember when I dated Gamora?”

“Yikes,” Loki mumbles half-heartedly.

“She broke up with you and moved away, right?” Tony asks, still not clear about what happened even then.

Loki replies, “It was just a whole mess, she kind of broke Peter.”

“She broke my heart. I don’t want the footballer to do the same,” Peter says quietly.

“He’s a good guy, I know him. He would never hurt you if he liked you too,” Bucky assures.

Loki blinks, processing, before he asks, “Wait, Bucky knows this guy. You’re not flirting with Steve, and there isn’t really any other footballer you’re talking to except for...” His eyes narrow at Peter as he says icily, “Thor.”

“Loki, wait —“ Tony says, only to get cut off.

“You’re playing _my_   _brother_? What the fuck, Quill?” Loki asks, irritated.

Peter quickly defends himself, “Loki, I promise I’m not playing Thor, okay? Fine, I admit, at the start, I was. But it’s becoming something real now. I really like him!”

Loki shakes his head, annoyed, “Jesus Christ... You know he’s straight, right?”

Peter pauses, before saying, tone a little defeated, “We’ll never know unless Thor says something about it...”

Loki rattles off, clearly annoyed by Peter, “This is insane! So what happens if you succeed? You send my brother into an endless cycle of self-hate and confusion over his feelings about you? You make him question himself? And if does come out as LGBT, you’re going to let him get bullied by people he considered friends? Become an outcast? Me being openly pansexual is already hard on Thor, just imagine how that would go.”

“Loki, you wanna calm down a little?” Bucky cuts in.

“I think you’re overreacting,” Tony mumbles.

Peter nods, agreeing with Tony, “Loki, I promise you, I like your brother! And I’m sorry I played him at first, but I promise I genuinely like him!”

“Fine, so you like him. You know how someone like him would react when everything he thought he knew about himself is questioned. There’s obviously nothing wrong with LGBT, we of all people know that, but clearly that’s not a popular opinion in this school. Say you help him realise his sexuality. Say someone outs him. His reputation is over. I wish it wasn’t like that, but that’s how it is. His life at this school would be over and all because you wanted to have some fun and try to turn my brother gay.”

“Hey, chill out, Loki! Stop blaming Peter,” Tony jumps to his defence. “Weren’t _you_ all up for the idea in the first place?”

Loki answers, “That was when I thought it was a joke, but then Peter was actually serious about it. This isn’t funny anymore. Actually, it’s _tormenting_ to do this to someone for your own entertainment.”

Peter snaps, finally having enough, “Loki, I’m fucking _sorry_ , okay? I’ll stop flirting with Thor if it’ll make this stop.” He stands up, taking his tray with him, “I’m so fucking done.”

“Peter, wait,” Bucky says, holding out a hand to stop Peter from leaving.

Peter rolls his eyes, walking away, “Whatever. I’ll go sit with someone else.”


	6. misery

Thor doesn’t know what he’s done wrong. Every time he tries to talk to Peter, Peter quickly starts talking to someone else nearby or walks the other way. When he texts Peter, Peter either answers hours later or just doesn’t reply at all. When he takes a seat near Peter’s at Glee, Peter either switches seats or just talks to someone else the entire time.

“Peter, stop avoiding me,” Thor says, finally managing to corner Peter at his locker. “Is everything okay?”

Peter glances around, looking for a way out, but when he finds none, he asks, “What do you mean?”

“You’ve been avoiding me a lot lately. Did I do or say something wrong? If so, I apologise,” Thor says sincerely.

“You didn’t do anything,” Peter shakes his head.

Thor asks, “Then why are you ignoring me?”

Peter hesitates before he says, “I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable with anything I’ve said to you before. It wasn’t my place. I shouldn’t have flirted with you.”

He really was flirting with me, Thor thinks, heart beating like a drum in his chest. He pushes the thought aside, clarifying, “You have never made me uncomfortable, Peter. Why would you think so?”

“Doesn’t matter why. It was wrong, and I’m sorry,” Peter replies, already moving away.

“It wasn’t wrong,” Thor insists.

“It is to me,” Peter mumbles, walking away, leaving Thor to stand alone at his locker.

* * *

 **pq** @quilllocked

fuck loki, fuck everything, i want to fucking cry

| i really do like thor, so fucking much, and i hate to admit it but loki’s right. i don’t want thor to come out and get harassed for it, like i have been since i came out

| i don’t want to make him do something he’s gonna regret so i stopped flirting with him and it fucking hurts i miss being able to talk to him without caring about what i would say

| i just don’t get it, thor was fine with it, i don’t get why loki’s the one with a problem with it

| i got beaten up by clint and sam again but i guess i deserve it for being a piece of shit

 

 **ts** @starkprivate

@quilllocked loki’s an asshole, you’re not doing anything wrong. also, where are you? scott and i are looking for you

 

 **pq** @quilllocked

@starkprivate auditorium

 

 **scott** @langman

@quillocked on our way

* * *

 **Thor** @pointbreak

what happened?

* * *

"Thor, Quill, you want to perform your duet for Valentine's Day?" Mr Coulson asks, beaming welcomingly. Tony shoots Quill a worried look and he just gives him a smile in return, standing. Thor follows, though he looks upset. 

Quill tells the pianist, " _Wicked_ _Game_ , Chris Isaak."

The pianist nods, playing the opening chords. Quill nods Thor's way and the former begins to sing, staring at Quill though he doesn't know why, " _The_ _world_ _was_ _on_ _fire_ _and_ _no_ _one_ _could_ _save_ _me_ _but_ _you_."

Quill continues on, shrugging as he walks past Thor, "It's _strange_ _what_ _desire_ _will_ _make_ _foolish_ _people_ _do_. _I'd_ _never_ _dreamed_ _that_ _I'd_ _meet_ _somebody_ _like_ _you_."

Thor follows, " _And_ _I'd_ _never_ _dreamed_ _that_ _I'd_ _lose_ _somebody_ _like_ _you_."

Thor walks over to Quill, as part of the choreography they'd practised the week before, but he dodges the dance and shakes his head, pacing away from him, " _No_ , _I_ _don't_ _want_ _to_ _fall_ _in_ _love_." Thor frowns, wondering just what the hell did he do wrong for Peter to be so averse to him so suddenly.

He sings the backup, " _This_ _girl_ _is_ _only_ _gonna_ _break_ _your_ _heart_."

Their voices connect as they both sing, " _With_ _you_."

Tony watches anxiously as their choreography, which he'd watched once, flies out the window as Quill refuses to even look Thor's way while the other boy is. He sings, turning to Tony and Bucky for some form of comfort, " _What_ _a_ _wicked_ _game_ _you_ _played_ _to_ _make_ _me_ _feel_ _this_ _way_. _What_ _a_ _wicked_ _thing_ to _do_ _to_ _let_ _me_ _dream_ _of_ _you_."

Thor grabs Quill's arm and turns him towards him, singing sadly, " _What_ _a_ _wicked_ _thing_ _to_ _say_ _you_ _never_ _felt_ _this_ _way_. _What_ _a_ _wicked_ _thing_ _to_ _do_ _to_ _make_ _me_ _dream_ _of_ _you_."

Quill sings the chorus again, pulling his arm out of Thor's grasp as he walks back in front of Tony and Bucky. They finish the song, both clearly upset, and Tony knows he just has to do something. He stands and takes Bucky's arm in his, telling Mr Coulson, "We'll go to the bathroom, if you don't mind."

Mr Coulson nods, "Sure, Anthony. Give it up for Thor and Quill!"

Thor sits back down in his place next to Steve, sighing as his fingers dig into his arm, wondering where it went wrong.

* * *

 **pq** @quilllocked

miles morales and sam alexander came in to try out for the new directions and sam sang dancing queen before miles just kissed him they’re cute

| ...

| i miss thor.

* * *

Tony drops his schoolbag in front of Loki, sitting on the front steps of McKinley High, and starts off, “This has gone on long enough and I am _sick_ of it.”

“What?” Loki asks, glancing between Bucky and Tony.

“This whole making-Peter-feel-like-shit thing, banning him from talking to Thor!” Bucky says, folding his arms. “Look, I get you’re protective because Thor’s your brother, but this is a bit much.”

Tony explains, “The situation is different now, Loki. Peter isn’t flirting with Thor because he wants him to question himself, he’s flirting with Thor because he _likes_ him!” Bucky nods in agreement as Tony mutters, “You’re being so fucking selfish.”

Bucky adds, “Honestly, it seems like Thor likes Peter a lot too.”

Loki clarifies, “I asked Thor if he liked guys last night and he said he’s straight. I’m sorry, but I’m trying to spare Peter the heartbreak. You know how he gets when he falls for someone who doesn’t swing that way. I seem like an asshole, but I care about Thor and Peter.”

Tony scoffs, scooping up his bag, “Yeah? You have a weird fucking way of showing it, dude.”

* * *

Thor finds Steve at the music room, early for Glee Club. He’s drawing in his sketchbook, and Thor asks, “Steve, can I confide in you?”

“Anything. What is it?” Steve nods, inching a little so Thor can put his chair next to Steve.

“I think I like boys,” Thor mumbles. “And girls, not really.”

Steve blinks blankly. Thor had never expressed an interest in guys before, so this was a shock. He soon gets over his surprise and smiles warmly, “That’s perfectly fine, Thor. I’m happy you can come to terms with yourself. You looked pretty upset the past week, has this been eating at you for a long time?”

“The past two weeks, I’ve been thinking about it. Loki asked me about this last night too,” Thor answers. “But that’s not why I’m upset. I’m upset because Peter won’t talk to me.”

Steve nods, tapping his pencil on his chin in thought, “Yeah, he does seem like he’s avoiding you. Did you have a fight?”

“We’ve never argued before. I asked him if I did anything wrong and he apologised for flirting with me and said it was wrong of him. That’s the last time we talked, excluding the duet yesterday.”

Steve shrugs, suggesting, “Maybe he’s dealing with some shit right now. I’m sure it’ll all blow over soon and he’ll talk to you again. Any reason why you’re so bothered?”

Thor hesitates answering him, but eventually says, “About the whole I like boys thing... I think I like Peter as more than a friend. Which is why his avoiding me is making me feel bad.”

“Try talking to him in real life, or maybe ask Mr Coulson for help? I’m sure he’ll be willing to help you out, and Peter won’t be able to avoid you if Coulson asks him to talk to you.”

Thor nods, eyeing Tony, Bucky and Peter who had just entered, “Maybe.”

* * *

"Mr Coulson, you asked to see me?" Quill calls as he walks into the auditorium. 

Mr Coulson waves to him from the stage and Peter goes over to him, raising an eyebrow in question as Mr Coulson says, "Hey, Peter. Thanks for coming. Someone wanted to talk to you."

Quill frowns in confusion, "I thought you wanted to —"

He stops short when he sees Thor behind Coulson and he averts his eyes, "Sorry, I have to go."

Coulson stops him, "Peter. Look, I agreed to do this because you seem really upset this past week, and I noticed you've been actively ignoring Thor. Especially during your duet, you were off. Just… Talk to Thor. Please." Quill relents and Coulson leaves, letting the two talk alone.

Thor starts, "Okay, I don't know what I did, but clearly I did something or you wouldn't be avoiding me.”

Peter shrugs, "I told you, you didn't do anything. It's just me."

Thor sighs before he says, "You probably don't want to listen to me talk. I know you love music more than talking anyway, so… Please let me sing you something." Quill stares at him before he finally nods, sitting down. Thor whispers to the band and they begin playing a song Quill knows.

" _So scared of breaking it that you won’t let it bend,_ " Thor sings. Quill actually really likes Thor's voice — Tony thinks it's a bit deep for some songs, but Quill thinks otherwise. He thinks it's absolutely perfect, but perhaps it's a biased view. He just thinks every aspect of Thor is perfect. Thor continues. " _And I wrote two hundred letters I will never send. Sometimes, these cuts are so much deeper than they seem._ "

Quill joins in, " _You'd rather cover up, I’d rather let them be. So let me be and I’ll set you free._ "

Thor comes over and Quill starts to roll his eyes as the former sings, " _I am in misery. There ain’t nobody who can comfort me. Why won’t you answer me? The silence is slowly killing me._ "

Quill continues the song, making eye contact with Thor for the first time since entering the auditorium, " _Boy, you really got me bad, you really got me bad. I’m gonna get you back, gonna get you back._ "

Thor smiles at Quill finally returning his attention, feeling his heart get happier, as he sings, " _Your salty skin and how it mixes in with mine._ "

Quill eventually breaks into an easy grin, continuing the song, " _The way it feels to be completely intertwined_ "

Thor sings, " _It's not that I didn’t care, it’s that I didn’t_   _know_."

Quill nods, knowing Thor means that line, as he sings, " _It's not that I didn’t feel, it’s what I didn’t show._ "

They sing in synchronicity, smiling as Thor takes Quill's hand, " _So_ _let_ _me_ _be_ , _and_ _I'll_ _set_ _you_ _free_."

They get through the chorus together, Quill allowing Thor to pull him by his hand into some sort of dance. He laughs, happy with the contact with Thor, and Thor sings the next line, " _Say your faith is shaken, you may be mistaken._ " Quill joins, " _You keep me wide awake and waiting for the sun._ "

" _I'm desperate and confused, so far away from you._ "

" _I'm getting there, don’t care where I have to go!_ "

When they finish the song, both are panting a little and exhilarated, hands still joined. Thor immediately takes Peter's other hand in his spare hand and says earnestly, "Peter, please go out with me."

He blinks blankly, surprised, "What?"

Thor nods, repeating, "Please go out with me. On a date. I like you so much.”

"You don't actually like me. Nobody can like me," he starts doubting. "If we date, your life in McKinley's gonna be hell. It's just bullying and hating yourself, slushies in the face every day, getting the shit beat out of you by frat boys —"

Thor smiles faintly, saying, "I know. I like you a lot. Go out with me?"

Quill licks his lips in thought before he remembers Loki, immediately shaking his head, "You're just confused because I flirted with you. You don't like me. I'm unlikable, I've been told many times."

"I like you! I like you so much," Thor insists, reaching for Peter's hand as the latter starts to leave.

Quill turns back to face Thor as he asks, "Then why don't I feel like you do?"

Thor steps closer, replying, "Because you don't believe me."

 _Holy_ _shit_. _Holy_ _shit_ , _Thor_ _is_ _kissing_ _me_. _Thor_ _Odinson_ _is_ _fucking_ _kissing_ _me_ , Quill's mind goes into overdrive when he realises what's happening, but he melts into it anyway. Fuck Loki and his protectiveness.

"This is embarrassing to admit, but that was my first kiss. So you have to know by now that I really do like you, Peter," Thor says once he pulls away, smiling bashfully.

"Fuck. Yes. I want to go out with you," Quill rushes out, knowing his cheeks are red from how flustered he is. Oh, Tony and Bucky are gonna lose their minds when they find out.


	7. cough syrup

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tw: homophobic language

“Guess who just got kissed by Thor?” Peter asks, running into the music room where Tony and Bucky had agreed to meet him early at. Both of them perk up in their seats, excited.

“What? Oh my God! Finally,” Bucky immediately says, pulling Peter into a hug.

Tony laughs, “I’ve been waiting for the past twenty years for this.” Peter also chuckles, accepting another hug from Tony. When they pull away, Tony asks, “Are you gonna tell Loki?”

“Fuck him and his dramatic ass,” Peter rolls his eyes,

“Are you officially dating now?” Bucky asks curiously.

Peter answers, “Well, for now, we’re keeping our relationship a secret, but I guess.”

“This is so cute, how’d he do it?” Tony asks.

“He asked Coulson to bring me to the auditorium to talk and he sang Misery by Maroon 5 with me before he told me he liked me a lot. I said if he did like me then he would get bullied and other things, but he said he knew what was coming his way and that it doesn’t matter because he likes me. How did I get lucky flirting with the sweetest footballer ever?” Peter replies, grinning uncontrollably.

Bucky’s face is red from secondhand joy, saying, “This is so pure, I feel like crying.”

* * *

[Instagram]

 **wizardss** i’ll take it

Comments:

 **thefuturist** looking good, strange

* * *

[texting]

 **Tony** : hey stranger

 **Stephen** : do you need anything?

 **Tony** : nah

 **Tony** : just wondering if you wanna go on a date sometime

 **Stephen** : ??

 **Stephen** : i would love to, but where is this coming from?

 **Tony** : well, recently my friend said fuck it and went after a person they liked

 **Tony** : and i guess life is full of many fuck it moments and this is one of them

 **Tony** : i know we met like two weeks ago but you’re one of the best people i’ve ever met and i genuinely want to get to know you better

 **Tony** : so fuck it, i’m asking you out

 **Tony** : is friday, 8, breadstix good for you?

 **Stephen** : fuck it

 **Stephen** : yeah, it does

 **Tony** : perfect!

 **Tony** : i’ll see you then honey

 **Stephen** : ugh fine

 **Stephen** : honey

* * *

 **mckinley** **rumours!**  @mckinleysecrets

anon: tony stark is such a faggot lol

| — **pepper** @peppotts

     watch it. tony isn’t gay.

| **barton** @hawkclint

     his fag ass should burn in hell

| **sam** @falcson

     so pathetic hahaha

* * *

 **sam** @falcson

hey fag hahaha @thefuturist so you and that med kid are fucking now?

| **Thor** @pointbreak

     do you have to make such a public comment...

| **!pietro!**  @pmaximoff

     what happened lmao

| **barton** @hawkclint

     @pmaximoff saw those two twinks at breadstix on a date. hahaha who knew potts liked fags

* * *

Tony stands in front of the empty audience seats, the stage lights illuminating him. He'd moved from the back of the school once he heard the voices of footballers coming close. He's pretty aware of the bleeding of his nose and the pain in his side, but he doesn't think about it. He doesn't want to think about it, he'd rather sing his life away than spare another second thinking about them.

" _Life's too short to even care at all. I’m losing my mind, losing my mind, losing control_ ," Tony sings to the nonexistent crowd. The band behind him starts to play the instrumentals for _Cough_ _Syrup_ as Tony continues, " _These fishes in the sea, they’re staring at me. A wet world aches for a beat of a drum_."

" _If I could find a way to see this straight, I’d run away, to some fortune that I should have found by now_ ," Thor's voice comes through the auditorium doors and Tony glances over, sparing the two boys a weak smile as Peter finishes the line, " _I’m waiting for this cough syrup to come down, come down_."

Stephen and Scott come up behind them, Scott holding the bottle of water he'd promised Tony, as Stephen continues, " _Life's too short to even care at all. I’m coming up now, coming up now, out of the blue_."

Scott grins, the four of them walking onto the stage towards Tony, and he sings, " _These zombies in the park, they’re looking for my heart_."

Tony smiles at the sight of his friends, knowing he has their unconditional support, and he sings loudly, " _A dark world aches for a splash of the sun!_ "

Stephen puts a hand over Tony's shoulder, giving him a grin as he sings, " _If I could find a way to see this straight, I’d run away..._ "

Tony finishes the lyric off, "... _to some fortune that I should have found by now!_ "

" _And so I run now to the things they said could restore me, restore life the way it should be. I’m waiting for this cough syrup to come down._ "

And Tony isn't afraid to sing and love, loud and proud here, because he knows right there, in that auditorium with these people he knows as his friends, nothing can hurt him here.


	8. the chain

“Please welcome our newest member, Mantis,” Mr Coulson introduces. Mantis waves to the other members, a shy smile on her face.

Ned greets warmly, “Welcome!”

Coulson gestures to an empty seat next to Quill and Mantis goes over to take it. Once she is settled down, he says, “Right, kids. As you know, sectionals are coming up.”

“Who are the other choirs?” Steve asks.

Quill replies, “I heard one of the teams are the Dalton Warblers.”

Thor asks, clarifying, “Dalton’s the all-girls school, right?”

“Yeah, my ex transferred there,” Quill nods.

“Are they good?” Peter asks, nervous.

Tony answers, “Very.”

Coulson adds, “Other than the Dalton Warblers, there’s Vocal Adrenaline, from Carmel High.”

“Oh my God... Vocal Adrenaline are legends in the show choir world,” Bucky mumbles, burying his face in his hands.

“Nothing we can’t take,” Pepper comforts.

“That’s the spirit!” Coulson smiles, pointing to Pepper to agree with her. “The theme is classics. Old music. We’re talking The Beatles, Queen, Bee Gees, ABBA, The Kinks, et cetera.”

Quill perks up excitedly, “We’ve got this.”

Thor smiles fondly at Quill, saying, “Peter knows lots of good old music.”

Coulson nods, asking, “Good. Quill, could you prepare some songs to run by me so I can finalise a setlist?” Quill nods, and Thor tells him they can get a playlist to him by the next day. Coulson smiles gratefully, “Thank you, Thor and Quill. The rest of you, if you have song suggestions, tell it to Quill or Thor, or perform it over the course of the next two weeks for us to consider.”

* * *

Peter Quill’s playlist:

  1. Fox On the Run — The Sweet
  2. The Chain — Fleetwood Mac
  3. Brandy (You’re A Fine Girl) — Looking Glass
  4. Come a Little Bit Closer — Jay & The Americans
  5. Hooked On a Feeling — Blue Swede
  6. Bohemian Rhapsody — Queen
  7. I Want to Break Free — Queen
  8. Somebody To Love — Queen
  9. Eleanor Rigby — The Beatles
  10. Mamma Mia — ABBA
  11. Carry On Wayward Son — Kansas
  12. Super Trouper — ABBA
  13. Dancing In the Moonlight — Toploader
  14. Picture Book — The Kinks
  15. I’m Still Standing — Elton John



* * *

“I’ve reviewed Quill’s playlist. Both him and Thor have been kind enough to take time off their week to perform their favourite songs off the list for me to seem and I have chosen three songs,” Coulson says.

Peter Parker is practically jumping off his seat as he asks, “What are the songs, Mr Coulson?”

“Brandy by Looking Glass, Tony solo. The Chain, Quill and Thor duet. Bohemian Rhapsody for the last song, but arrangement will be confirmed later in the week, multiple solo parts in it.”

Everyone begins to discuss excitedly.

* * *

It isn’t even two days after Coulson’s setlist announcement that he pulls Thor and Peter Quill out of their shared class to say, “Hey boys, I’m sorry about this.”

“What is it?” Peter asks, already having a sinking feeling in his stomach.

“I just debated with Coach Maria Hill in Principal Fury’s in office. Neither are allowing two boys to duet together at Sectionals. Upon further reviewing of the judges at Sectionals, I also, regrettably, doubt that a duet between two boys will be accepted. Plus, we live in Ohio. Not exactly a good place for that,” Coulson says apologetically.

Thor says flatly, “So what you’re saying is our duet is dropped.”

“Yes,” Coulson says. “I’m very sorry. You two have amazing onstage chemistry and I would have loved to share it with everyone in that audience. You did that song so well, you killed it when you performed it for me. It’s my deepest regret that I have to pull one of you from the performance.”

Peter specifies, “Maria Hill started this? She hates my guts.”

Coulson nods slowly, “Yes, she did. I tried to argue to let you two sing together, but she made the valid point about the judges not being as open as we are about that sort of thing. One of the judges is an extremist religious person as well. I want you guys to have fun, but I also don’t want it to be the cause of our team getting eliminated, you know?”

Thor nods, putting a comforting hand on Peter’s shoulder, “We understand. Who’s staying and who’s taking over?”

“I thought it would be fair if you decided between yourselves,” Coulson replies.

“Thor has a better voice than me. He should stay on the song,” Peter immediately says.

Thor denies, “No, you sing better than I do.”

Peter insists, “You do, Thor. And I’m openly bisexual in Goddamn Ohio. Last thing I need is to have the spotlight. I love attention but not negative attention. I think it’ll be better if you take it, the judges wouldn’t be prejudiced against you.”

Thor hesitates before saying quietly, “Okay. Your choice.”

“Do you have anyone in particular you’d like to do the song with?” Coulson asks.

“Brunnhilde is amazing at The Chain too. I heard her sing it once,” Thor offers.

Coulson nods in thought, “You and Brunnhilde have great chemistry as well. I think you’ll do fine together. Do you mind asking her to sing it with you for me tomorrow so I can confirm her?” Thor affirms it, and the two go back to class.

* * *

[glee girls gc]

 **Pepper** : you know what would be a good idea?

 **Ava** : ??

 **Pepper** : if we had someone spy at dalton

 **Brunnhilde** : that’s crazy

 **Mantis** : why would we need a spy? rehearsing and beating them fairly is better

 **Wanda** : ugh mantis is so pure lol

 **Pepper** : hm maybe instead of suggesting things that don’t work, why don’t you just go and spy on them?

 **Mantis** : but what if i get caught?

 **Wanda** : i can loan you something that looks like their uniform. you’ll be fine

* * *

Mantis walks down the steps of Dalton Academy, anxiously holding onto her bag strap. Girls walk past her as if she's one of them, not sticking out like what she is, a spy. A girl with auburn hair passes her and Mantis calls out, "Oh, excuse me. Um, hi. Can I ask you a question? I'm new here." 

The girl pauses and turns back around to face Mantis and she gives her a warm grin, "My name's Nebula."

Mantis nods, returning the smile, "Mantis. Um, so what's going on?"

"The Warblers! Every now and then, they throw an impromptu performance in the senior commons. Tends to shut the school up for a while," Nebula answers.

Mantis blinks, seeing the contrast in how the Glee Club in Dalton is treated compared to that in McKinley High, and she asks, "Wait, so the Glee Club here is kind of cool?"

Nebula nods, laughing, "The Warblers are like, rock stars. Come on, I know a shortcut." She holds out her hand and Mantis takes it, allowing Nebula to run down the hallways with her, leading her.

Nebula is nicer than Mantis' assumed her to be, because the Dalton girl seems intimidating with how her presence commandeers a room. Mantis jokes that she doesn't fit in and Nebula teases that next time, she shouldn't forget her jacket.

And then, of course, turns out Nebula is one of, if not the only, soloist of the Warblers and her voice is incredible. She sings Katy Perry's Teenage Dream with a group of other Warblers. It's surely not the entire choir, but even with the smaller number, their sound is still complete.

Later on, Nebula offers her a latte and introduces her adoptive sister, Gamora. Mantis faintly recalls Quill talking about his ex being from Dalton, and she assumes this is who he's referring to because she's absolutely gorgeous and definitely right up his lane. Mantis jokes, taking a sip of her latte, "It's very civilised of you to invite me for coffee before you beat me up for spying."

Gamora laughs, "We are _not_ going to beat you up."

Nebula agrees, "You were such a terrible spy, we thought it was sort of endearing, which made me think that spying on us wasn't really the reason you came."

Mantis hesitates before she asks, referring to a rumour Wanda and Pepper had told her earlier, "Can I ask you girls a question? Are you girls all… lesbians?”

Nebula and Gamora seem caught off guard by the question before Nebula answers, "Uh, uh, no. I mean, I am, but no, Gamora is 100% straight."

Gamora explains, knowing of the rumour about Dalton, "This is not a gay school. We just have a zero tolerance harassment policy. Everybody gets treated the same. No matter what they are. It's pretty simple."

Gamora leaves them to talk after that, wanting to catch up with her other friends. Mantis didn't know until then that she actually really likes redhead girls who sing for the opposing team.

God, she's a terrible spy.


	9. SECTIONALS

[MCKINLEY TITANS group chat]

 **Clint** : i still can’t believe you guys are in that gay ass glee club

 **T’Challa** : lay off, man.

 **Pietro** : good luck on sectionals, i guess

 **Steve** : thanks, pietro

 **Sam** : word of advice, stay away from that faggot quill

 **Clint** : don’t let that assfuck infect you

 **Thor** : could you just shut the fuck up for once in your god damn life?

* * *

Tony takes a deep breath and takes his place behind the curtain. The other members of the New Directions were nervous because they’d nailed the death slot, the first act. It means they have to do better than anything they’ve ever done. Even worse, his solo is the opening act. Tony begged Mr Coulson to let the full choir’s rendition of Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody go first but there was no last minute changing to the set list. Stephen comes up behind him and presses a secret kiss to his cheek, whispering, “Break a leg. You’re gonna do great.” Tony nods and thanks him, shooing him away as he hears the host call out, “Introducing your first act, the New Directions!”

“There’s a port on a Western Bay and it serves a hundred ships a day,” Tony starts, trying to focus more on the music than the hundreds of watching eyes. When he realises his father isn’t in the crowd and ignored his invitation to watch his first Sectionals, he can finally let go, getting more into the groove of the music. He sings, “Lonely sailors pass the time away and talk about their homes.”

The curtains behind him part to reveal the rest of the show choir. Tony catches Stephen’s eyes and smiles, something just between them alone, and it gives him courage to continue the song, “And there’s a girl in this harbour town and she works layin’ whiskey down. They say, Brandy, fetch another round. She serves them whiskey and wine. The sailors say ‘Brandy, you’re a fine girl. What a good wife you would be. Yeah, your eyes could steal a sailor from the sea’.”

The crowd seems to really like Tony, the ones who are familiar with the song sing along and the ones who don’t simply clap in time to the music. Tony breaks into a grin, feeling more free than he’s ever felt. On that stage, he’s untouchable. He forgets the bullies, his father’s abuse, everything. All he has then is the crowd’s support, his boyfriend behind him and his friends.

“Yeah, Brandy used to watch his eyes when he told his sailor stories,” Tony sang, basking in the attention he’s given. For once, it’s positive attention, and he fucking loves it. Stephen comes up next to him and he sings in harmony with the other members while Tony continues his solo, “She could feel the ocean fall and rise, she saw its ragin’ glory. But he had always told the truth, Lord, he was an honest man.” His gaze falls on Stephen and he smiles fondly, finishing the verse, “And Brandy does her best to understand.”

Thor looks over at Quill and he realises that the boy is crying, albeit unnoticeably. As Tony finishes up the song and the stage-lights go dark, he asks quietly, “Are you okay? Why are you crying?”

“I’m fine, it’s just… that was my mom’s favourite song. I didn’t realise how much I missed her recently with all the shit I’ve been putting up with since the school year started. And you know, losing the duet with you bummed me out. My mom would’ve fought to let us sing together in front of those asshole judges,” Quill answers, wiping his tears off with his sleeve as he lets out a weak laugh. He nudges Thor lightly and says, “Anyway, don’t mind me. Go sing with Brunnhilde. Break a leg.” Thor looks back at him hesitantly before he relents, walking to centre stage with Brunnhilde as Tony grins to the audience, “Ladies, gentlemen and everyone in between, we present to you, the New Directions of McKinley High!”

“Listen to the wind blow, watch the sun rise,” Brunnhilde starts off, coming out from the darkness. The stage-lights are still off, a single spotlight following her and Thor as the boy emerges as well, singing, “Running in the shadows, damn your love, damn your lies.” Thor and Brunnhilde meet each other halfway across the stage and sing together, “And if, you don't love me now, you will never love me again. I can still hear you saying you would never break the chain.”

Steve and Bucky back Thor up as he sings, “Listen to the wind blow, down comes the night.” Pepper and Wanda do the same for Brunnhilde, while she glances over at Ava, “Running in the shadows, damn your love, damn your lies.” Ava catches her stare and she looks away hurriedly, breaking the eye contact. Brunnhilde shakes her head slightly in disappointment, but she carries on the song with Thor, “Break the silence, damn the dark, damn the light.”

“And if, you don't love me now, you will never love me again. I can still hear you saying you would never break the chain!”

The crowd erupts in applause for them and they soon quiet down for the last song on their three-song setlist, Bohemian Rhapsody.

“Is this the real life? Is this just fantasy? Caught in a landslide, no escape from reality. Open your eyes, look up to the skies and see,” they all sing harmoniously. The music starts up and Steve sings, “I’m just a poor boy, I need no sympathy.” Bucky shares a smile with him as the rest of the choir follows up, “Because I’m easy come, easy go, little high, little low.” Peter sings, walking across the stage to join Ava and Quill, “Any way the wind blows doesn’t really matter…”

“… to me, to me.”

Tony takes his place at the piano and he sings, “Mama, just killed a man. Put a gun against his head, pulled the trigger, now he’s dead. Mama, life has just begun…” Quill picks up the lyric where Tony leaves off, singing with the rock star voice Thor absolutely loves, “… but now I’ve gone and thrown it all away! Mama, ooh… Didn’t mean to make you cry, if I’m not back again this time tomorrow…”

“… Carry on, carry on, as if nothing really matters,” Thor sings, subtly brushing his hand against Quill’s. It makes the both of them smile, even though its insignificant, and Pepper sings, “Too late, my time has come. Sends shivers down my spine, body’s aching all the time.” Ava continues, “Goodbye everybody, I’ve got to go. Gotta leave yo ual lbehind and face the truth.”

“Mama, ooh… I don’t wanna die, I sometimes wish I’d never been born at all!”

There’s an elaborate dance sequence the Cheerios had choreographed that the rest have to follow. Luckily enough, their dances were simple and weren’t too difficult to memorise. The boys that were strong — basically anyone who wasn’t Peter or Ned — lifted the girls to spin them by their waist, dancing with and turning them in time to the music.

“I see a little silhouetto of a man,” Bucky sings and Thor and Quill add on, “Scaramouch, scaramouch, will you do the fandango?” The strobe lights shine on Thor and the rest of the New Directions gestures to him, exaggerated horrified expressions on their faces as they sing, “Thunderbolt and lightning, very very frightening me!”

“Gallileo, gallileo, gallileo, gallileo, gallileo figaro… Magnifico!” Wanda and Bucky switch off before the spotlight lands on Ned, “I’m just a poor boy, nobody loves me.”

“He’s just a poor boy from a poor family! Spare him his life from this monstrosity!”

“Easy come, easy go, will you let me go?” Quill sings, kneeling on the ground as if praying to the sky. The boys and girls split, the boys on Quill’s right and the girls on his left, and each side sings as if arguing.

“Bismillah! No, we will not let you go!”

“Let him go!”

“Never let me go,” Quill sings, standing as the others chant, “No, no, no, no, no, no, no!” Pepper turns to Tony, “Oh mama mia, mama mia, mama mia, let me go.”

“Beelzebub has a devil put aside for me, for me…” the choir sings in unison, before Tony nails the high note, “For me! So you think you can stone me and spit in my eye?” Brunnhilde sings, looking over at Ava once again, “So you think you can love me and leave me to die? Oh baby, can’t do this to me, baby.” Ava doesn’t do anything in response, simply moving next to Peter while Quill sings, not caring what the judges think as he runs over to Thor, “Just gotta get out, just gotta get right outta here!” Thor grins, following Quill to stand by him on the stage.

“Nothing really matters, anyone can see…” Steve sings and Bucky accompanies, “Nothing really matters, nothing really matters to me…”

“Any way the wind blows…” they all finish together.

There’s silence for a few moments before they’re welcomed with a standing ovation. Every one of them breaks into wide grins and give each other hugs and high fives. Phil Coulson watches from the audience with Peggy Carter, the guidance counsellor who really likes the New Directions, and he can’t be more proud of them. He and Peggy stand to leave the auditorium to meet with the show choir as they make their way offstage for Vocal Adrenaline to perform.

Tony’s phone buzzes in his pocket, and he frowns when he realises it’s Howard. He rejects the call.

* * *

Vocal Adrenaline is… incredible.

Their leading stars all come from Wakanda, a country full of talented youth. They also have some fantastic back-up singers, like Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, Matthew Murdock and Danny Rand. Matt’s blind, Jessica and Luke are an interracial couple and majority of VA are black, which means the judges are probably going to give them points for diversity. They have an incredible setlist that features the vocals of their leading singers. Bucky had taken a photo with Okoye and M’Baku earlier wishing them luck, and now he’s kind of regretting it because clearly they didn’t need it.

They start off with Highway to Hell by AC/DC, where Jessica and Danny team up for rockstar singing. It hypes up the audience to a level where it’s actually pretty worrying for the other competing teams, because it really seems like they’re winning the favour of both the judges and the crowd.

“Livin’ easy, livin’ free! Season ticket on a one-way ride!” Jessica starts up the song, jumping from a pedestal onto the stage while the back-up singers dance behind her to the beat. Danny points at her accusingly, “Asking nothing, leave me be! Taking everything in my stride!” She steals the rest of the verse, grinning as she and Danny take middle stage to do the chorus together, moving about energetically as the audience sings along.

“I’m on the highway to hell!”

“We’re screwed. We’re totally fucking screwed,” Brunnhilde nods, throwing her hands up in frustration. The New Directions are watching from backstage, and they can’t deny that Vocal Adrenaline are spectacular. Quill shrugs, “Maybe they’ll suck after the first song. They’re using a hell lot of energy for just the opening number.”

“Thank you! We are Vocal Adrenaline of Carmel High. Enjoy,” Jessica says once Highway to Hell ends, and one of the back-up singers whistles loudly before the opening of Fox on the Run by The Sweet starts up.

“I don’t wanna know your name ‘cause you don’t look the same. The way you did before. Okay, you think you got a pretty face, but the rest of you is out of place. You looked alright before,” Luke sings as Okoye continues, “Fox on the run, you scream and everybody comes a running! Take a run and hide yourself away.”

“Nope. I was wrong,” Quill sighs, taking the empty seat next to Thor. “They’re still going strong.”

“We can’t just give up,” Steve insists. Tony scoffs, leaning into his own chair, “What do you want us to do, Rogers? Go back out there and reperform? We can’t do that.” Steve frowns, rubbing his neck awkwardly, “Okay, you have a point. But we can’t say it’s over yet. Maybe the Warblers suck.” Ava jokes, “That’s sexist, Steven.” Steve splutters and is about to defend himself when she waves him off, “Joking! Joking.”

When Fox on the Run comes to an end, the sound of a phone ringing sounds throughout the auditorium and Matt pretends to pick up a phone, singing into the imaginary receiver while the music for The Call by Backstreet Boys begins, “Lemme tell you the story 'bout the call that changed my destiny. Me and my boys went out, just to end up in misery. Was about to go home when there she was standing in front of me and said—“

“— Hi, I got a little place nearby. Want to go?” Nakia cuts in. M’Baku continues the song, “I should’ve said no, someone’s waiting for me. But I got my coat, called and said…”

The entire show choir sings the chorus together, perfect pitch and vocals that raised goosebumps erupting from the stage, “Listen baby, I’m sorry. Just want to tell you don’t worry. I will be late, don’t stay up and wait for me. I said again, you’re dropping out, my battery is low! Just so yoy know, we’re going to a place nearby, gotta go!”

Peter sits down defeatedly, “That’s it. We’re sorry, Mr Coulson. We tried our best.”

* * *

The Dalton Warblers are formidable. They’re an all-girl acapella group, frequently fronted by Nebula and Gamora Titan, sisters. The moment Gamora takes the lead for their opening number, Another One Bites the Dust by Queen, Quill is rendered speechless. She’s just as beautiful as she was when she left him, but Quill can’t ever love her again. She’d ended their relationship on horrible terms and he’d spent the next half a year getting over her. He truly loved her, but that was history, history he never wanted to go back to again.

“Steve walks warily down the street, with the brim pulled way down low! Ain’t no sound but the sound of his feet, machine guns ready to go. Are you ready, hey, are you ready for this?” Gamora sings, the rest of the choir making the beat behind her. She looks over to Nebula, but her eyes catch Quill’s among the curtains and her smile drops. Quill’s gaze breaks away from hers and he focusses on Thor by his side, and Gamora looks back toward the audience. A singular moment lost among voices and backstage shadows. A moment Quill doesn’t need.

The Warblers finish their set with Eye of the Tiger by Survivor and They Don’t Care About Us by Michael Jackson. The audience loves their performance, but Tony is confident that they can beat both opposing teams. Coulson wishes he shares Tony’s confidence, but all he can do is pray that it goes well and they won’t have to end.

* * *

They won. By some miracle, they won. The confetti around them doesn’t even feel real. The Warblers lost in third place and Vocal Adrenaline scraped close with second, but the judges loved the New Directions’ pure love for music onstage, and their easy chemistry with one another coupled with their complementary voices was amazing.

“Peter…” Gamora starts walking over to Quill while Tony claims the trophy from one of the judges. Quill backs away, shaking his head, “Nope. Last time we spoke, you told me I was a piece of shit who couldn’t do anything. Well, my team beat yours, so I guess I did something. right for once.” Thor smiles at Quill standing up for himself while Gamora retracts her hand awkwardly, before she says, “I’m sorry. If you… If you want to talk things over, please come find me at Dalton. I really want to make it up to you.”

While the New Directions cheer for their victory, Tony forces a smile through his phone ringing in his pocket, knowing it’s Howard yet again. He steps away to answer it, “What do you want?”

“You performed,” Howard says.

“I thought you didn’t come,” Tony replies, glancing into the audience to double check.

“I didn’t. Someone told me. You’re still part of a respectable family, Anthony. News about people like us spread fast,” Howard explains.

Tony scoffs, “News? How is this news? All I did was sing in a competition. Which we won, by the way. But you wouldn’t care about that, would you?”

“I’m not letting you do this. You are supposed to take over Stark Industries when you’re old enough,” Howard insists,

“And I will take over. I’m a genius. Perfect grades, I’m sure I’m allowed to sing on the side too, Howard,” Tony rolls his eyes.

Howard corrects, “I’m your father, you will address me as such.”

“No. You know what? I’m done. My whole life, you’ve abused me and even now, I still flinch when someone I trust raises their voice. I still have trouble deciding whether I’m really worth anything, even with my straight As or my talent. This club has done more for me in a few months than you have my entire life. You are the shittiest father and I hate you. I don’t care if you didn’t come tonight. I don’t care if you never come at all. You’ve never supported me in anything I’ve done, anyway. My schoolwork is never good enough, you hate the people I date because I love guys —“

“If you finish that sentence the way I think you are going to finish it, get the hell out of my house. It’s wrong,” Howard interrupts.

Tony almost laughs in bitterness as he says, “Then I guess I don’t have a father. Never had one anyway.”


End file.
